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'Hands Up, Don't Shoot': A Call For Nation-Wide Action in Face of Rising 'Epidemic'
Dream Defenders: "Police are literally killing our communities and we must take action"
Aug 22, 2014
"The murders of unarmed people in our communities has reached epidemic numbers."
This is the warning that kicks off a national call (via video) from the Dream Defenders--the group that grabbed the national media spotlight last year when its members launched protests against Stand Your Ground Laws, including by occupying the office of Florida Governor Rick Scott.
Now, to honor the lives of Mike Brown, John Crawford, Eric Garner, Ezell Ford, and others across the country who have fallen victim to deadly violence at police hands, they are calling for a national campaign--Hands Up, Don't Shoot. "We are prisoners of a war being waged on communities of color and the poor," states the campaign website. "We are filled to the brim with frustration, passion and anger as we stand on the frontlines. Police are literally killing our communities and we must take action."
The Dream Defenders are demanding, in their own words:
1. Obama: "Do the right thing." Go to Ferguson and meet with local black and brown youth.
2. Eric Holder: Meet with local black and brown youth across the country who are dealing with "zero tolerance" and "broken windows" policing.
3. Ensure transparency, accountability, and safety of our communities by requiring front-facing cameras on police departments with records of racial disparity in stops, arrests, killings, and excessive force complaints.
4. Cops need consequences too. Police officers who discharge their weapon on an unarmed person should be suspended without pay pending further investigation, and their name and policing histories should be made available to the public.
5. Tanks and tear gas don't ever belong in our communities. America should not be going to war with its citizens. Demilitarize all police departments.
6. Police should be representative of the communities they are tasked to protect and serve and community members should have real power in citizen review boards.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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"The murders of unarmed people in our communities has reached epidemic numbers."
This is the warning that kicks off a national call (via video) from the Dream Defenders--the group that grabbed the national media spotlight last year when its members launched protests against Stand Your Ground Laws, including by occupying the office of Florida Governor Rick Scott.
Now, to honor the lives of Mike Brown, John Crawford, Eric Garner, Ezell Ford, and others across the country who have fallen victim to deadly violence at police hands, they are calling for a national campaign--Hands Up, Don't Shoot. "We are prisoners of a war being waged on communities of color and the poor," states the campaign website. "We are filled to the brim with frustration, passion and anger as we stand on the frontlines. Police are literally killing our communities and we must take action."
The Dream Defenders are demanding, in their own words:
1. Obama: "Do the right thing." Go to Ferguson and meet with local black and brown youth.
2. Eric Holder: Meet with local black and brown youth across the country who are dealing with "zero tolerance" and "broken windows" policing.
3. Ensure transparency, accountability, and safety of our communities by requiring front-facing cameras on police departments with records of racial disparity in stops, arrests, killings, and excessive force complaints.
4. Cops need consequences too. Police officers who discharge their weapon on an unarmed person should be suspended without pay pending further investigation, and their name and policing histories should be made available to the public.
5. Tanks and tear gas don't ever belong in our communities. America should not be going to war with its citizens. Demilitarize all police departments.
6. Police should be representative of the communities they are tasked to protect and serve and community members should have real power in citizen review boards.
"The murders of unarmed people in our communities has reached epidemic numbers."
This is the warning that kicks off a national call (via video) from the Dream Defenders--the group that grabbed the national media spotlight last year when its members launched protests against Stand Your Ground Laws, including by occupying the office of Florida Governor Rick Scott.
Now, to honor the lives of Mike Brown, John Crawford, Eric Garner, Ezell Ford, and others across the country who have fallen victim to deadly violence at police hands, they are calling for a national campaign--Hands Up, Don't Shoot. "We are prisoners of a war being waged on communities of color and the poor," states the campaign website. "We are filled to the brim with frustration, passion and anger as we stand on the frontlines. Police are literally killing our communities and we must take action."
The Dream Defenders are demanding, in their own words:
1. Obama: "Do the right thing." Go to Ferguson and meet with local black and brown youth.
2. Eric Holder: Meet with local black and brown youth across the country who are dealing with "zero tolerance" and "broken windows" policing.
3. Ensure transparency, accountability, and safety of our communities by requiring front-facing cameras on police departments with records of racial disparity in stops, arrests, killings, and excessive force complaints.
4. Cops need consequences too. Police officers who discharge their weapon on an unarmed person should be suspended without pay pending further investigation, and their name and policing histories should be made available to the public.
5. Tanks and tear gas don't ever belong in our communities. America should not be going to war with its citizens. Demilitarize all police departments.
6. Police should be representative of the communities they are tasked to protect and serve and community members should have real power in citizen review boards.
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